


Hiccup

by akane42me



Category: Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-29
Updated: 2011-06-29
Packaged: 2017-10-20 20:31:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/216817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akane42me/pseuds/akane42me
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a tense situation, and Napoleon's got a problem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hiccup

**Author's Note:**

> Written in October 2006 for a mfuwss beta challenge.

HICCUP

"I need more." Illya's voice was tense. His face was pinched in concentration. Napoleon was surprised. They'd gone through four packs already. He fished another from his pocket. It was wrapped in cellophane, to keep the contents dry. He pulled at the tear-strip. It crackled.

"Napoleon." Illya sounded rattled. It wasn't like him to let his nerves show like this. He handed the packet to Illya and stuffed the plastic wrapper into his pocket. It made a crunchy noise. He winced.

"Napoleon!" Illya growled. "Even a cretin knows how unstable this is."

"Sorry." He watched as Illya began to precisely apply the next layer. "Are you going to stop after this one?" he asked cautiously.

"The specifications recommend this as the minimum. It's better if we can manage at least one more." Tiny beads of perspiration had popped out across Illya's forehead. "How much time do we have left?" he asked.

Napoleon checked his watch. "Barely five minutes." Illya swore softly under his breath. He wiped his right hand on his pants and continued the delicate process. Napoleon looked around the room to check on the other teams' progress. It was going to be close.

Then the unthinkable happened, without warning, but Napoleon managed to contain it. A tiny hiccup burped inside his chest. It made just the smallest of sounds, and he'd been holding himself so tightly that he hadn't moved a bit. Napoleon flushed. It could have spelled disaster. 

God help us, he thought. The slightest disturbance and it would explode. How much time did they have left? Two minutes. He could hold his breath that long. He slowly inhaled, and held it. Illya was patiently laying the next strata, matching it perfectly to the previous layer. I'd probably be holding my breath anyway, Napoleon told himself.

Illya finished. He froze for a moment, then he backed away carefully, a wolfish grin on his face. Napoleon flashed him a congratulatory smile, and took in a relieved breath of fresh air. 

The second hiccup burst out as his expanding lungs collided with his diaphragm, jerking from its forced captivity, jarring in its intensity. Napoleon didn't see the building explode. He turned his back with all the speed he could muster, knowing what would happen. Illya's screams pierced the air behind him as Napoleon grabbed his tumbler of scotch and ran for it, as the house of cards tumbled and slithered to the floor.

The End 


End file.
